I have an unsightly film around my stainless pan as shown here:
What is causing this to happen?
And how can I remove the film? I have soaked it in soapy water, scraped it with a plastic scraper, and run it in the dishwasher several times, but I can't seem to get rid of the film.
UPDATE: the pan is an All-Clad stainless, fully-clad frypan: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00005AL8C
Best Answer
As others have already said, it appears to be polymerized oil. It happens when oil is left in the pan hot for a long period (temperature depends on oil), or smoking for not as long. However, lye probably isn't required to remove it.
Bar Keeper's Friend and a bit of scrubbing will probably manage to take this off. As an advantage, while getting BKF on your hands will dry your hands out, it won't cause injury—unlike lye.
Alternatively, a scouring pad and plenty of elbow grease will take it off as well (though will also leave shallow scratches in the stainless—it'll not be polished anymore). Or, similarly, a sanding block or sandpaper.
I wouldn't put an aluminum core stainless (or tri-ply) in an oven on the self-clean cycle. Those get very hot, somewhere around 900°F, and I'd not at all be surprised if the pan warped.